People to Watch: Antoinette Stevens wants to transform Iowans' lives with technology education

Antoinette Stevens is a cybersecurity analyst at Principal Financial Group
Des Moines Register

Buy Photo

Antoinette Stevens, a cybersecurity analyst at Principal Financial Group, founded Reboot Iowa, a group that helps adults transition into IT careers by teaching basic IT and coding skills.(Photo: Rodney White/The Register)Buy Photo

A newcomer to Des Moines, Antoinette Stevens struggled to find friends three years ago.

So she established the Black Urban Professionals of Des Moines and met the people who now tether her to the city.

Wanting young girls to discover computer programming's power, Stevens helped create Iowa's first Girls Who Code Club at Central Academy.

Determined to help low-income adults explore the ways technology can transform their lives — and earning potential — she started the nonprofit, Reboot Iowa.

That's just in the 25-year-old's spare time.

During the day, Stevens, one of the Des Moines Register's 15 People to Watch in 2019, is a cybersecurity analyst at Principal Financial Group, where she interned two summers before becoming a full-time employee in 2015.

Stevens "knows what she's after," said Gary Scholten, chief information officer at Principal, a large financial and retirement services company based in Des Moines.

Scholten said Stevens ran after him and asked for career advice over lunch.

Most of the interns struggled to make eye contact that day, he said.

"She bounced all kinds of things off me" at the lunch, Scholten said, adding that Stevens tried several types of technology jobs during her internships.

"Early on, she expressed an interest in security, both as a challenge and something that would be incredibly important to Principal" and other businesses. "So, she went for it," he said.

The decision demonstrates Stevens' eagerness to learn, Scholten said.

"It's one of the most deeply technical roles across all information technology," he said. "It can be very intimidating," especially rubbing elbows with some "brilliant co-workers" very early in her career.

"You have to have a high level of confidence in your ability to learn," Scholten said.

Stevens said a computer science degree from the University of Georgia gave her the foundation she needed to learn about information security.

"A lot of it, I've had to pick up on my own," she said. "A lot of it, you learn by doing. That's the best way to get good at security."

Initially, Stevens was a pre-business and marketing major at the University of Georgia, and took a computer science course for non-majors. Her professor, the computer science undergraduate adviser, "thought I had potential."

"I was one of those girls who didn’t think I was smart enough for computer science," she said.

Part of that "was not wanting to put in the effort," Stevens said. "I didn’t want to push myself.

"I'm glad I had someone early on in my college career who snapped me out of that thinking," she said, "to nudge me and tell me how ridiculous it was."

Stevens describes the computer science degree and cybersecurity work as "terribly difficult ... but that's part of the fun. If it were easy, it wouldn't be worth" doing.

"I like that I had to work hard for the knowledge I have," said Stevens, who grew up in Stone Mountain, Georgia, a suburb just east of Atlanta.

The first six months after relocating to Des Moines were tough, she said. But a conversation with Brian Waller, president of the Technology Association of Iowa, led her to start the Black Urban Professionals group.

Waller talked to her about how the association provided a tech community, and "I realized I didn’t have a community here of young black professionals.

"If they were here, I didn't know about them. And I wanted to meet them," she said. "It was a very selfish way to start an organization, but it's worked out and helped other people."

Stevens also reached out to young girls and adults about coding because she believes it's important to help others learn.

Sometimes, it's been through workshops; sometimes, through conferences.

"The way I was raised ... when you climb the ladder, you reach back and help the person behind you," she said.

"It’s always been a part of me," Stevens said. "I want to open pathways for other people, to build them up as well."

Moving into the new year, Stevens plans to focus on Reboot Iowa and finding ways to better reach adults interested in learning about technology.

She wants to reach the person "who works at McDonald's, who is making less than $15, but wants more in their life and doesn’t know where to start.

"It’s not any statement on minimum wages," she said. "I honestly believe that careers in tech can change people's lives.

"I want to help someone who wants to help themselves," said Stevens, who hopes to work with groups already involved in training, such as the Evelyn K. Davis Center for Working Families.

Stevens plans to lead workshops throughout the year that focus on entry-level programming and other tech issues.

She also wants to put together resources so people who are interested in programming know where they can find free or low-cost training that can work around a full-time work schedule.

"Who's fighting for adults who want to switch careers but don't have the money? Who is out there encouraging a young mother who had to drop out of school because she couldn't afford to continue and take care of her children?" Stevens said.

"I think it's a good idea that could be something special, but I have to get it on the right path," she said.

Scholten said he knows whenever Stevens wants to meet for coffee or lunch, she has "a new idea percolating."

"She has a lot of energy and a lot of passion," Scholten said.

Principal Financial has a lot of talented millennials, he said, and the generation leans toward volunteering, especially work to immerse students in STEM, or science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

But Stevens stands out, not only for her internal information security work, but her volunteer efforts. "Starting Reboot Iowa is impressive no matter what age you are," Scholten said.

He asked Stevens to lead the Technology Association's diversity and inclusion committee, which created a guide for hiring and keeping diverse workers in Des Moines.

Waller said Stevens sees gaps and creates solutions. "Instead of complaining, she has the mentality of being a problem solver," he said.

"Iowa and Des Moines need to keep people with the skill and heart of Antoinette Stevens. She's a game-changer," Waller said.

Buy Photo

The Des Moines Register's People to Watch in 2019.(Photo: The Register)

About 'People to Watch'

The Des Moines Register's "15 People to Watch in 2019" are movers and shakers, givers and doers. They were chosen by Register news staff from scores of reader nominations. Their stories will run in the newspaper through Jan. 6. To read about past People to Watch, visit desmoinesregister.com/peopletowatch.

Antoinette Stevens

BORN: In Atlanta, and raised in near Stone Mountain, Georgia

RESIDENCE: Des Moines

EDUCATION: Bachelor of science degree in computer science, University of Georgia, Athens

OCCUPATION: Cybersecurity analyst at Principal Financial Group

CLAIM TO FAME: She started Black Urban Professionals of Des Moines and helped start Iowa's Girls Who Code at Central Academy in Des Moines, as well as ReBoot Iowa, a group that seeks to help adults find technology careers.